U.S. President Donald Trump
said on Tuesday he was considering a range of options to address steel
and aluminum imports that he said were unfairly hurting U.S. producers,
including tariffs and quotas.
Trump’s comments came in a
meeting with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives.
Some of the lawmakers urged him to act decisively to save steel and
aluminum producers in their states, but others urged caution because
higher prices would hurt manufacturers.
Trump is
weighing a list of options presented a month ago by the U.S. Commerce
Department in a “Section 232” trade case looking at whether restrictions
on steel and aluminum are needed to protect national security.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a meeting on trade with me
“What we’re talking about it tariffs and/or quotas,” Trump said to the group.
U.S.
President Donald Trump holds a meeting on trade with members of
Congress at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2018.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
“Part of the
options would be tariffs coming in. As they dump steel, they pay
tariffs, substantial tariffs, which means the United States would
actually make a lot of money.”
Trump now has until
around April 11 to decide whether to impose steel restrictions, and
April 20 to decide on aluminum restrictions.
Slideshow (2 Images)
The Commerce Department has not revealed its recommendations.
But
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told the lawmakers that Section 232
powers “can be applied in a much more surgical way” that could lead to
tariffs on imports from certain countries and quotas from other nations
suspected of transshipping products.
Steelmakers
recently urged Trump to take broad action to reduce steel imports to
curb global excess steel production capacity, largely in China..
Steel
and aluminum users, meanwhile, have urged caution in any restrictions
to avoid disruptions or price spikes in the raw materials used in
everything from autos to appliances and aircraft and construction.
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